Cars (Rated G)
Cars is a 2006 American animated film produced by Pixar and directed by both John Lasseter and Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney/Pixar feature film, and the final film by Pixar before it was bought by Disney. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, it features voices by Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final non-documentary feature), Bonnie Hunt, Cheech Marin, Jenifer Lewis, Tony Shalhoub, John Ratzenberger, George Carlin, Daniel Lawrence Whitney and Michael Keaton as well as voice cameos by several celebrities including Jeremy Piven, Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bob Costas, Darrell Waltrip, Jay Leno, Michael Schumacher, Tom & Ray Magliozzi from NPR's Car Talk and Mario Andretti. Cars premiered on May 26, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, and was released on June 9, 2006, to generally favorable reviews. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. It was released on DVD in late 2006 and on Blu-ray Disc in late 2007. Related merchandise, including scale models of several of the cars, broke records for retail sales of merchandise based on a Disney·Pixar film, with an estimated $5 billion in sales.[2] A sequel, Cars 2, is in pre-production and set for release during the summer season in 2011. Plot Cars takes place in a world populated by anthropomorphic vehicles. In the last race of the Piston Cup championship, retiring veteran Strip "The King" Weathers, perennial loser Chick Hicks, and rookie Lightning McQueen manage to end the race in a three-way tie. The tiebreaker race is scheduled for one week later at the Los Angeles International Speedway. Lightning is desperate to win the race, as it would allow him to leave the sponsorship of Rust-Eze, a rust treatment for old cars, and allow him to become the sponsored car of the lucrative Dinoco team in The King's place. Eager to start practice in California as soon as possible, Lightning pushes his big rig, Mack, to travel all night long. Mack tries to avoid falling asleep, but becomes the victim of a gang of reckless street racers, subsequently causing the sleeping McQueen to roll out of the back of the trailer unnoticed. McQueen wakes up in traffic, becomes lost, and in a panic ends up in the run-down town of Radiator Springs. A mishap with the local sheriff causes McQueen to inadvertently tear up the town's main road. McQueen is promptly arrested, then tried the next day by the town's judge and doctor, Doc Hudson, who at first wants him to leave Radiator Springs immediately; but at the insistence of local lawyer Sally Carrera, Doc instead sentences him to repave the road as community service. McQueen initially tries to rush through the job, but makes a sloppy, bumpy mess of the road and is forced to start over again. As the days pass, he becomes friends with many of the townsfolk and learns of their past. Radiator Springs was once a popular stopover along U.S. Route 66, but with the construction of a nearby interstate that allowed people to bypass the town, Radiator Springs was effectively erased from the map, causing many of the businesses and residents to leave. McQueen also discovers that Doc is actually the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a three-time Piston Cup champion who was forced out of competition after a serious accident ended his career over 50 years ago, but remains adept at racing. Encouraged by his new friends and a countryside cruise with Sally, McQueen successfully completes the road and spends an extra day in town, visiting the local shops to outfit him with new tires and equipment. That night, Mack and the media converge on the town, having been tipped off by Doc as to Lightning's whereabouts, and Lightning reluctantly sets off for California, much to his dismay. Sally is upset with Doc for thinking only of himself, and the other townsfolk are saddened to see McQueen go as well as McQueen is saddened to leave them. As they retire to their homes, the town's neon is turned off, and as the town returns to its previous quietness, Doc realizes just how much McQueen meant to them. As the tie-breaker race begins, McQueen's thoughts keep drifting back to Radiator Springs and he is distracted from performing well. However, he is surprised to discover that his new friends have come along to serve as his pit crew along with Mack, as well as Doc - once again outfitted in his old racing colors - serving as McQueen's new crew chief. Heartened by their presence and recalling the tricks they taught him, McQueen is able to counteract Chick Hicks' dirty driving tactics and take the lead of the race. On the final lap, Chick, fed up being in second place, purposely rams The King, causing him to veer off the track and crash in a horrifying roll-over wreck, much to the crowd's shock. McQueen, seeing the King crash, stops just short of the finish line, letting Chick win the Piston Cup. Remembering Doc's bleary departure from racing, McQueen reverses to help push The King the rest of the way across the finish line, allowing him to complete his last race and retire with dignity, much to the crowd's pleasure. As for Chick, his victory is rejected and he is booed off the awards ceremony stage for purposely ramming The King off, much to his anger, as his Piston Cup victory rendered hollow and meaningless. The King and his wife, Dinoco, the press, and the crowd praise McQueen for his sportsmanship. McQueen is offered the Dinoco sponsorship but turns it down, saying that he would rather stay with the Rust-Eze team that brought him this far. McQueen returns to Radiator Springs and decides to move his team's headquarters there, helping to revitalize the town and its businesses, much to the pleasure of his new friends. MPAA Rating The movie was rated G for General Audiences, although it explains a bad word and rude and irreverent humor.